


Magic in the Air

by IfullybelieveLarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Coming Out, Eventual Romance, Gay, M/M, Magic, Magic School, Romance, Witches, Wizards, Young Love, finding yourself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-03 23:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IfullybelieveLarry/pseuds/IfullybelieveLarry
Summary: Liam Payne used to be a simple lad. He'd stay at home to take care of the house and his sisters while his mom worked many different jobs to keep the family afloat. One day he gets a letter from a school he had never heard of. Kinsworth, Institute for the Magically Gifted. After leaving home to attend this school, he meets Zayn Malik, and his entire world gets flipped around, more than it already had been.Not going to finish. Sorry.





	1. Introduction

Introduction

* * *

 

_ “What do you mean that I can use magic? I thought that was impossible.” _

 

“Liam, sweetheart, can you please come to help me cook dinner?” I hear my mother’s somewhat hoarse voice call gently from the kitchen right next to the living room that I’m sat in. It draws my attention away from the book I was reading that I had found tossed outside the house. It was a really good book about witches and wizards. Ah, if only they really existed.

I gently set the tattered book down on the dirty and cluttered table in front of me before standing up from the old couch and making my way to the messy kitchen just a few feet away. As I walk into the kitchen, I see that mom was looking around for something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Apparently, she couldn’t find it by the look on her face. “Mom, what are you looking for?” I ask her, looking around at the dishes on the counter which no one has gotten around to cleaning just yet. I’ll have to make a note to do those after dinner.

“I’m trying to find my big spaghetti pot. I looked in the cabinet and it’s not there. I hope we didn’t already use it this week. I don’t want to wash it and I can’t make anything else for you and your sisters for dinner,” she starts to ramble on as I take it upon myself to look for the spaghetti pot that she was talking about. To my surprise, it actually was in the cabinet where we usually kept the pots. I reach in and grab it, turning my attention back to Mom who was still looking around the counter for the pot I was holding in my hands.

“Mom,” I say softly, which grabs her attention. Her eyes soften a bit and her body relaxes some when she sees the pot in my hands; she takes it away from me before giving my cheek a gentle and thankful kiss. It was her way of showing me that she was thankful for me helping her. I give her a small smile and grab the last clean pan out of the other cabinet and place it on the stove. Turning it on, I place the hamburger in the pan and cook the meat for her while she fills the pot with water from the sink just a few feet away from where I stand.

I try to enjoy the time Mom and I spend together cooking dinner, but I can’t help but think about how hard everything must be on her. Today is the first time in a long time that she got the day off of work. She usually is gone most of the day, only coming home to change out of one work uniform to the next or to come home and sleep. I know she works so hard and it is getting to her, but it’s the only way that she can keep my younger sisters, myself, and her all fed and clothed. She does her best, but its hard on her. Her stress levels are through the roof, and it’s easy to tell.

It takes a little while, but the two of us finally get dinner all made. I leave Mom to set the table while I head off to my sisters’ room to tell them dinner is ready. Making my way to the back of the house where the bedrooms are, I find myself at their door before knocking lightly. “Nicole, Ruth. Dinner is ready,” I tell them, getting a simple ‘okay’ in response from the two of them. “Alright, just hurry up before it gets cold, okay?” I then leave my spot in front of the door and head back to the kitchen to see Mom finishing up serving the hot spaghetti.

“Are the girls on their way down?” She asks, looking up at me with curious, but exhausted eyes. I give her a small nod and have her sit down at the table in front of a full plate of food.

“They’re coming, Mom,” I explain, “so just sit down and eat. After you finish eating, you should probably go take a nice bath and then go to bed. You do have to go back to work tomorrow.” My parenting voice comes out as I speak to her, but I can’t help it. I’ve spent a lot of time taking care of my two sisters so it kind of comes out naturally at this point. Not only that, but I really don’t want Mom to overwork herself any more than she already is, especially on her day off.

All she does is nod at me a little before digging into the food on her plate. I take my seat beside her as Nicole and Ruth finally walk into the room, taking a seat at the last two plates that are sat on the table. Quietly, the two of them dig into the food I helped cook. I can’t help but notice a small frown on Nicole’s face as she eats. She’s usually such a happy person, so to see her smile completely gone is odd. It really concerns me.

“Nicole?” My voice comes out gently with a hint of a concerned tone in it. She turns her attention to me and I continue to talk. “Is everything okay with you? You don’t really seem like yourself today.” Nicole doesn’t say anything to me. All she does is shrug at me before going back to eating her food.

I watch quietly as Mom grabs her hand gently before giving it a squeeze. “Sweetie, if there’s anything wrong at all, you know you can tell me. I’ll listen.” A frown forms on my face as Nicole pulls her hand away from mom and scoots her chair over so she’s sitting a bit further away from her. Now I’m really curious as to what could be going on with her. She’s never been like this before, especially with Mom. She’s always wanted to be close to her, so to see her try to be distant is really odd to see. It’s actually pretty sad to see, in my opinion. I decide to drop it, for the time being, leaving it to another time when I can talk to Nicole one on one to get to the bottom of what’s going on with her.

We all just eat until we’ve had enough and I have to push Mom out of the room so she will go relax in a nice bath as I clean up. A small sigh comes from me as I start to clean up the kitchen as best as I can. I clean all the dishes that are on the counters, I put the spaghetti away into the fridge for later, and I wipe down the counters to make them as clean as I can. Of course, most people who come in here still would think the kitchen is a bit messy because of all of the cabinet doors that are barely hanging in their places as well as the clutter of some of the drying dishes on the counters. Sometimes I miss living in a nicer house, but I just remind myself that a place like this is only temporary. Then again, we have been living in this place for the past few years. Who knows if we really are going to get a nicer house? I surely don’t have any idea.

With the kitchen finally all clean, I go check up on Nicole and Ruth and tell them goodnight. I knock on the door and wait for a “come in” before opening it. I give the two of them a small smile before I walk over to Ruth’s bed first. I tuck her in and kiss her forehead gently. “Goodnight, Ruth. Sweet dreams,” I tell her before getting up and going to Nicole’s bed. She still holds a small frown on her face that she had during dinner earlier. I sigh softly and sit on the bed, tucking her in as well. “Try to cheer up, Nicole. No reason to be so upset. You’re usually so happy,” I say to her gently, pushing some of her blonde hair out of her face.

All she does is shake her head at me before flipping over so her back is toward me. I sigh once again and kiss her head gently. “Goodnight, Nicole,” I say softly, having been blown off again by her. I get up and close the door behind me after leaving the room. Maybe she’ll eventually open up and tell me what was going on with her. I’ll just have to let her come to me when she’s ready.

I take this opportunity to go to my own room and change out of my outfit and into some pajamas. I take a seat on the side of my bed and lean down, untying the dirty shoelaces of my old, tattered sneakers that pinch my feet. Once both of them are off and set down at the foot of the bed, I peel off the old, faded, somewhat torn t-shirt and toss it to my side and lay it on the bed. Then off comes my ripped up jeans. Once I’m down to only my underwear, I grab my dirty, but the nicest sweatpants that I have and slip them on so I’m not just sleeping in my underwear.

Finally, all changed, I take my clothes that I had taken off and toss them into the hamper that I have by the door. A small yawn leaves my lips as I make my way back to my bed and lay down on top of it. I move around until I’m under the old blankets and I find a comfortable position to lay in. It takes a bit, but I finally find a position that is comfortable enough for me to fall asleep in.

My body relaxes in that spot in my bed and I close my eyes before burying my face in my pillow. Taking a deep breath, I think about how close my birthday is, trying to keep my mind off of Nicole for now. My birthday is tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll be eighteen. The moment when I’ll actually be an adult, though to be honest, I felt like I’ve been one for the past few years. Taking care of my sisters and dropping out of school really makes me feel like I’ve been an adult since I was sixteen. Not that I really mind, I guess. I love my sisters to death and I’m glad I can take weight off of Mom’s shoulders by taking care of Nicole and Ruth. At least now, all she has to worry about is working. I do all of the shopping and I pay most of the bills and I take care of the girls every day.

Again, I really don’t mind at all. I’m doing this to make mom’s life a bit easier. I take a deep breath now and I just relax and try to get some sleep. I’m ready for the day to end and the next one to get here. Not that this one was bad, but I’m just ready for the next day already. Maybe tomorrow will be the first time in a few years that I’ll be able to get a cake for my birthday. Maybe tomorrow will be the day we’ll finally be able to afford it. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.

I drift off to sleep and before I know it, I’m dreaming. If only I knew what would come of the dream I was having at this moment. Though honestly, how could I have possibly seen it coming at all? I mean, I had absolutely no idea that anything like that was possible, so how could I even begin to think that I was capable of being able to do that. To go into the dreams of my younger sister to talk to her about what was going on with her.

 


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

* * *

 

I find myself in a garden of some sort. The garden is a large patch of grass with flower bushes and shrubs all around. Off to the right, there is a large, but very nice gazebo with vines climbing up the sides of it. The flower beds look very clean and neat like someone had been tending to them. The bushes and shrubs reach a staggering seven feet at the highest point; no doubt this is all due to the amount of care someone has given them. A stone path leads around the garden; it goes along some shrubs, all leading to the gazebo before leading back to the spot where I am standing. By the looks of things, the gazebo is the center for people who visit here. It gives people somewhere to sit while looking at the beauty of the rest of the garden.

I think I’m stood here all alone until I see a familiar figure walk out from behind a smaller bush. To my surprise, it’s my little sister Nicole. She doesn’t seem to notice me as she walks to the gazebo and sits herself down in one of the chairs that’s underneath the roof of it, giving her some shade and relaxation as she looks at the flowers surrounding her. I almost don’t want to walk up and talk to her, but I know that even though it probably won’t get me anywhere, seeing as this is a dream, I should try to talk to her and see if I can figure out why she’s been so off today. I take a deep breath and make my way over to her.

Nicole doesn’t notice me until I’m only a few feet away from her, and she looks at me with a sad expression before looking away. “What do you want, Liam? This is supposed to be my private place. My place for me to be alone with my thoughts and feelings,” she tells me, which takes me by surprise. This is my dream, so how does she have a private place if this is my dream where I’m talking to her? Something is weird about this, but I decide that it’s no big deal so I speak up.

“Nicole, you weren’t like yourself today, and as your brother, that concerns me. You’re usually such a happy and chatty person. To see you quiet and distant, it’s cause for concern. Not only that, but you shied away from mom yesterday when she tried to offer comfort and support for whatever is bugging you,” I explain to her before taking a seat next to her. Her attention is still drawn to some other place, instead of at me. I grab her hand gently and give it a squeeze. “Please talk to me, Nicole. I want to know that everything is okay with you. It’s my job to be sure that you’re okay.”

Reluctantly, she slowly looks over at me; that sad look continued to stick to her face. “I just...I miss mom…” She says softly as her bottom lip trembles like she’s going to cry. “I miss mom being at home and yesterday reminded me of how much I missed her. I don’t see her much, if at all anymore. She’s gone by the time I get up for school in the morning and she’s still out by the time I go to bed at night. I may see her one time after I get home from school, and that’s only because she has to come home to get changed for her third job.” I watch, almost helplessly as tears fill her eyes and her lip trembles more.

I lean closer and wrap both of my arms around her tightly, holding her close to me. Her body shakes a bit as I hear small sniffles start to come from her, telling me that she’s finally letting out all of her sadness. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but I know she needs to just cry it out, so I just try to be a source of comfort as she cries in my arms. I rub her back gently as I place soft kisses on the top of her head.

Her small sniffles turn into full-blown sobs, but I don’t blame Nicole for being so upset over not seeing Mom anymore. Before we ended up in this situation, Mom and Nicole were very close. Nicole told Mom absolutely everything and they were always playing games or doing other things together. It would be hard to find another mother/daughter relationship that is that close, or closer. Their relationship was unlike any other I had seen.

When Mom took up the three jobs to keep us financially stable, at least somewhat, Nicole never seemed bothered by it. I thought it was odd, but I just pushed it off to Nicole being understanding of our situation that we were in. I guess now that I’m talking to her, I see that she’s just pushed those feelings out of her mind for the last few years. She’s only reminded of how it has made her feel now that Mom had her first full day off in years. I understand completely how it must be hurting her.

It takes a bit of time for Nicole to settle down, but she finally does. He tears slowly dry, and her sobs slowly fade away until they are gone. I don’t unwrap my arms from around her though. I stay there until she pulls away on her own. When she does, I let her sit back up and wipe her face. “Do you feel better now?” I ask her gently, hoping that being open and honest about her feelings helped her in some way.

Nicole gives me a small nod as she looks at me. “That helped so much. I should have just told you from the beginning that I was feeling upset about that,” she says. I give her a small, comforting smile as I place my hand on her cheek gently.

“Nicole, I understand that sometimes it’s difficult to open up about what we are feeling about certain situations. It’s understandable to want to keep some things to yourself and not bother anyone with how you’re feeling,” I begin. “I’m just glad that you did finally open up to me. I’m glad I know what’s been bothering you. Now the two of us can work together somehow to help you feel better about Mom being away so much, but you have to work with me.” Nicole gives me a nod as she relaxes a bit and leans into my hand.

Nicole goes to say something to me, but she just disappears before she says anything. I’m taken aback a bit, but I don’t have much time to react because I’m brought out of my dream by my alarm clock ringing by the side of my bed. Groaning, I reach over and turn it off. Time for me to get up from a bed, get dressed, and make a quick breakfast for Nicole and Ruth before I send them off to school.

I sit up and slide out of my bed and pull on a t-shirt, not really feeling like changing at the moment. I’ll do that after the girls are off to school so I have time to take a shower first. Sleepily, I leave my room and go to the kitchen, where I grab the bread from the counter and the butter from the fridge to make the girls some toast.

I hum to myself softly as I cook the toast before hearing two pairs of feet walk through the living room and into the kitchen. I smile to myself, knowing that it’s Ruth and Nicole who are all ready for breakfast. “Hey, girls. Did you two sleep well?” I ask, looking over at them as they both take a seat at the kitchen table, waiting for me to give them their food. Ruth looks at me and gives me a bright smile as she nods. Nicole on the other hand looks at me a bit nervous like she needs to talk to me.

I place the toast when it is all finished on two plates, sliding one to Ruth and one to Nicole. I give Nicole a soft look before taking a seat next to her. “Hey there. Is everything okay, sis?” I ask her, only to be pulled into a hug. I’m surprised by this, but I hug her back anyway. “What’s this for?”

“For not talking to you when I should have. I miss Mom a lot sometimes and I really should have just been talking to you more,” she tells me, and I’m surprised by her response. This is a complete flip from her attitude yesterday, and I have no idea what could have changed her thinking. For her to go from not talking about it at all yesterday, to be completely honest with me right after waking up; it’s quite the flip.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re coming to me now,” I say, kissing the top of her head gently. “If you don’t mind me asking, what makes you come to me now?” I ask her, hoping to get an answer of some sort from her.

“You came to me in a dream last night and I told you everything. You said that you wished I came to me with my feelings about Mom being gone for so long and not seeing her. You’re worried about me and I shouldn’t stay quiet. It only makes you worry about me even more,” she explains. Wait. Did she say that I came to her in a dream last night? So...she had the same dream that I had last night? How? There’s no way that we could have had the same dream.

I pull away from her a bit and look over at her. “Did you say that I came to you in a dream last night?” I asked, earning a nod from her. “Were you in a garden under a gazebo?” I ask again. She gives me the weirdest look before answering my question.

“Yeah...how did you know that?” She asks, and I sit there, mind blown. We did have the same dream last night. The same exact dream. That explains why she was confused about how I was in her “private place”. It’s because it usually is her private place. Her dreams are her private areas where she can be alone, and I somehow ended up in her dream, with her, in her space. How the heck did that happen?

“Well, I had the same dream last night,” I explain a little. She just looks at me in surprise for a moment before the two of us decide to just drop the subject. Nicole eats her breakfast and I get up to go straighten up the living room. I wave the girls off as they both leave a little while later to catch the bus to school.

No matter what I do, I can’t keep it out of my mind. How did we have the same dream last night? Dreams could be similar, but our dreams seemed too similar, so how the heck did it happen? Is it just an odd thing that happened? I mean, maybe? It could be possible, but something about it just really doesn’t seem normal.

As I continue to clean the living room, the doorbell rings and brings me out of my thoughts. I set the book that I had been reading last night back down onto the table and walk over to the door, opening it. In front of me, stands a young woman. She’s stood there in a long, blue dress. The sleeves reach down to her wrists and the collar is up higher so only a bit of her collarbone is showing. Her black hair is pinned back into a very elegant updo and a pair of glasses fit her face perfectly and show off her green eyes. In her hands, she carries a letter. It takes a moment before she speaks.

“Are you Liam Payne?” She asks me gently, to which I only nod in response. She gives me a nod back and hands me the letter before walking off. I stand there, confused. She was dressed all nice and fancy, so it’s not like she was a mail carrier. I sigh and shut the door, looking at the envelope in my hands. It’s a very nice envelope with my name written on the front in elegant, gold writing. I look on the back and see a wax seal with some sort of crest on it. Written just above it, in the same writing as my name on the front, reads a name of a school, I’m guessing.

_ Kinsworth, Institute for the Magically Gifted. _


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

* * *

 

“Kinsworth, Institute for the Magically Gifted?” I say to myself softly as I gaze at the golden letters on the envelope in my hands. Surely the woman who gave me this is joking, right? There’s no magic school. There couldn’t be. Magic isn’t really real. There’s just no way. I try to rationalize my thoughts in my head, trying to convince myself that it’s some sort of prank, as elaborate as it may be. It seemed too detailed though to really be a prank. The school name, the wax seal with the crest on it, he seemingly fancy envelope. Either someone had too much time on their hands and really wants me to fall for this, or it’s genuine. There’s only one way to really find out the truth.

Taking a deep breath, I break the wax seal and open the envelope to pull out the letter inside. My eyes are met with the same crest that was on the seal, but now on the top right corner of the page. Just under that, the school name is written yet again. My eyes then drift down the page to read the contents of the letter that was carefully written for me.

_ Dear Mister Liam Payne, _

_ My name is Amanda Torneau and I am the headmistress of Kinsworth. I am very pleased to inform you that you have been given acceptance into this very selective school. Our school is very private and we are only known by our staff, students, and immediate family of the students who study here. We are a secure school for witches and wizards such as yourself. _

_ A member of my staff has had their eye on you for quite some time and I didn’t realize why until the previous evening. Last night they witnessed you perform a somewhat difficult type of magic. Dream magic. Much of my staff doesn’t even try to perform anything like this, and you managed to do it without any real difficulty. Not only that, but you did it on accident. So it seems only fitting that we invite you to be a student at our school. It would be a real honor to have you as a student at Kinsworth. _

_ Don’t worry about taking care of your sisters. If you decide to join us here, we will arrange for someone to take care of your sisters while you stay with us. We will give you every opportunity we can to study magic with us and hopefully strengthen the powers that you hold somewhere deep inside of you. If you decide to be a student here, please put this letter back inside the envelope and put it into a safe place. If you decide not to, burn this letter as soon as you can. We have our ways of knowing your decision. _

_ The first semester starts in seven days, so please make your decision quickly. If you have any questions, let me know. _

_ Signed, _

_ Amanda Torneau, Headmistress _

I just stare at the letter in my hands, surprised by its contents. In all honesty, though, I feel honored. A member of this private, elite, magic school has been watching me (though I’m not sure why) and now they want me to enroll? This is crazy. I can’t help but let a smile form on my face as I fold the letter back up. How cool would it be to actually study magic? Do all kinds of different types of magic. Cast spells, levitate objects. The possibilities are absolutely endless, and I’m excited to possibly take part in this journey of learning magic.

On the other hand, I’m hesitant to accept the offer. I know the letter tells me that they’ll find someone to take care of my sisters while I’m away at school, but I don’t know if I should do that. I can’t just leave the two of them here with a stranger for the entire time that I’m away at school. Mom’s already gone enough as it is, and I’m all they have left. If I leave them, how would that impact them? That’s something I have to keep in mind while thinking about this decision that I have to make.

I sigh softly and set the envelope down on the table in front of me before sitting down on the couch. As much as I would love to give Miss Torneau an answer right now, I can’t. I have to discuss this with my mom, and my sisters. There is no way I can make a good decision without getting their input on the matter.

I don’t think I even move from that spot until Mom stops by the house after her first job. I’m sitting on the couch like I had been before when I hear the door open, followed by Mom walking through the living room. “Hi, sweetie,” she greets me as usual but doesn’t stop for me to respond. It takes me a moment, but I manage to stop her.

“Hey, Mom. I need to talk to you about something before you go to your next job. I know you have about thirty minutes to be there and it’s only a five-minute drive from here,” I say, looking at her with pleading eyes, hoping she’ll just stop so I can talk to her. I watch as she takes a deep breath before turning her body to me, telling me that she has my attention. Instead of saying anything, I hand her the letter and have her read it so she knows what the situation is. As she reads, the small smile that she had when she walks in vanishes and turns into a small frown as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“You...got accepted into the a...magic school?” She asks before looking over at me, a look of confusion was written all over her face. “What...what did you do last night?” She asks, wanting to know what I did to warrant a letter from this selective school.

“I...I don’t really know,” I admit as I rub the back of my neck nervously. “I think I went into Nicole’s dream last night and talked to her. She was worrying me with her behavior yesterday and I really wanted to know what was going on with her. Then this morning, she came to me and told me that she had talked to me in her dream last night and it made her realize that she should have been talking to me from the beginning.” That’s what I think happened, though I’m not sure if that’s really what they were talking about.

“Do you want to go to this school?” Mom asks me, and I just stand there. To be honest, I didn’t really even think about if I really wanted to go. I just thought it would be cool to go learn some magic. My thoughts have been too preoccupied with thinking about how I have to worry about my sisters possibly being here on their own or being here with someone they have never met before. I didn’t even consider my feelings on the matter of actually going to this school.

“I don’t know if I really want to go if I’m honest. It sounds like a really amazing opportunity for me, but is it really for me?” I explain to her a bit, earning a small nod from her in response.

“I understand, Liam. You need to just take time and think about what you want. Not what I want, not what your sisters want, but what you want. That’s the most important thing,” she says before hugging me. “No matter what though, it’s all up to you. If you want to go, you can go.”

I nod a little and hug her back for a moment before pulling away. I know that I’ve already taken up a lot of her time to get ready for her next job, so I decide to put an end to our conversation. “Alright, you should probably go get dressed for your next job. Don’t want you to be late, right?” I say to her with a chuckle, which she returns. Mom gives me a small smile before leaving the room to get dressed, and then head off to her second job of the day, but not before saying one more thing to me. “By the way, happy birthday baby.” She blows me a kiss and I just smile at her as she walks out of the house.

Once she’s gone, I sit back down on the couch and the book that I had been reading the night before catches my eye. I look at it with a gentle smile before picking it up, my fingers gently running over to cover of it. To think, just yesterday, I didn’t think that magic was real. Now, not only did I perform some magic of my own, but I’ve been invited to be a student at a magic school. A very fancy one too, or so it seems. If I go to this school, my whole life will change. I will no longer be an everyday high school dropout who takes care of his sisters every day. I’ll actually be a wizard. For real.

The thought just boggles my mind as I sit there and try to think about it. Though, one question pokes at me. Why would someone at this school be watching me? For what reason would someone there want to keep their eye on me? I’m not really special. I mean, no more than the other students who are going to that school. 

Not only that, but no one in my family has any sort of magical powers. At least, not that I’m aware of. How did I end up being the only one in my family that has these powers just hiding inside of them? Surely I had to have gotten them from somewhere, right? They couldn’t have just appeared inside of me when no one else in my family has any sort magical abilities that I’m aware of. Surely if the family was capable of magic, I’d be aware of that. At least I would think so. 

I take a deep breath and just try to put it out of my mind. It’s not really all that important at the moment. I can ask questions about that later. For now, I need to really think my choices through and decide. Will I become a student of Kinsworth, or not?

I think it would be good for me to go out and get some sort of education in something, even if it is magic. It would be nice to actually finish going to some sort of school, actually. It doesn’t really sit well with me, being a dropout, ya know? Makes people look down on you for not having a diploma. To go to this school and maybe be able to finish would make me feel better, even if it doesn’t change me not having a diploma. Just finishing some sort of school would be nice.

Not only that, but I think it would be really awesome to learn all kinds of spells. Could you imagine the kinds of things I could do if I went to this school?

Even though I haven’t talked to my sisters about it yet, I think I’ve come to a conclusion on what I want to do. After all, this is my choice. It’s my choice if I wish to enhance the abilities I didn’t even know I had. Picking up the letter back off the table, I slide the neatly folded piece of paper back into the envelope. Once it’s tucked back into the envelope, I take the whole thing up to my room. I look around for a moment before finding the place where I put all of my important papers. Pulling out the folder that contained my birth certificate as well as a bunch of other important documents, I slide the envelope behind all of those papers, ensuring it’s safety, before putting it back into the drawer where I had put it.

That’s it. I’ve decided to be a student at Kinsworth, Institute for the Magically Gifted.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

* * *

 As the days continue to go by, the more nervous I get. My first semester at Kinsworth is quickly approaching and I don’t even know how to pack. I’ve tried to sit down and pack for my stay, which I found out would be the entire year except for a few weeks for Christmas, but I can’t just pack. When I try, I just get too anxious and end up doing anything but packing.

Today, the day before I’m supposed to head out to the school, I’m sat on my bed looking at my still empty suitcase. I still have yet to pack anything. No clothes, no essentials, nothing. It sits on the floor, completely empty. All that goes through my head is the fact that tomorrow, I’d be leaving my mom and my sisters behind to go to this magic school to practice magic, something I had always believed was impossible. To say I was nervous was a pretty big understatement.

I’m shaken out of my trance-like state by Ruth knocking on my open door, grabbing my attention. I look away from the empty container in front of me and direct my attention to her. She has a small smile on her face, but I know her well enough to know that it wasn’t a real smile she was trying to give me. Standing up from my seat, I make my way over to her and hug her tightly. “I’m gonna miss you, Ruth. A lot,” I begin,” but don’t worry. I’ll call you all the time so we can talk. I’ll do the same with Nicole. I may not be here, but I won’t stop talking to you two.”

Her arms wrap back around me to complete the hug as I hear small sniffles come from her. “I’m just going to miss seeing you every day, Li. I really am,” she says with a small sob. It breaks my heart to see Ruth upset, but I know she’ll be over it in time. Especially since I’ll be talking to her as much as they’ll possibly let me. I won’t give her, or Nicole a chance to miss me.

“I know you are, but everything will be okay, sis. Just stay strong for me,” I say as I rub her back gently, trying to calm her down. Kissin the top of her head, I whisper softly, “I love you, Ruth. I love you and Nicole so much. Don’t think of this as a bad thing. Think of this as a good thing, okay?” She gives me a small nod before pulling back from me so she can wipe the few tears that actually fell off of her cheeks. “Do you want to help me pack? I uh...haven’t done any of it,” I admit to her, which earns a chuckle from her.

“Of course I’ll help you pack, Liam.” She smiles at me and walks into my room. Finally, with a bunch of her help, I get packed for my trip to this school. The rest of the day I try to spend as much time as I can with Nicole and Ruth as I can. We play games, cook dinner together, and do other things before the two of them are off to bed. Of course, I tuck them in one last time.

“Goodnight, girls. Sleep tight. Be good in school for me, okay?” I tell them, and they both tell me that they’ll be good and that they love me. I leave the room with a smile and head off to my own room. Settling down into my bed after changing my clothes, I drift off to sleep easily, bringing my departure from home to Kinsworth a lot closer.

Waking up the next morning to the sound of my alarm ringing on my bedside table, I let out a small groan and get up. I change out of the clothes I had on during the night and put them into the suitcase along with everything else. I’m sure I’ll be able to wash my clothes at this school, so I’m not worried about my clothes being dirty right at this moment. I have enough clothes to last me a while before I have to do any laundry. I get my normal morning routine done before walking to the front door when I hear a knock. In front of me stand the same woman who had given me the letter a week ago.

“Hi, Liam. I’m Eleanor Drisora. Charms Teacher to the first years. I was sent to get you. Are you ready to go?” She asks me, and I nod a little. I take one last look behind me before walking out of the house with my suitcase in tow. To my surprise, I don’t see a car or any sort of vehicle waiting for us outside.

“Well, uh…” I begin, looking at her. “How are we going to get there?” She gives me a gentle smile before waving her hands in front of her in a very odd way while she mumbles something under her breath. All I can do is watch as a door materializes in front of us, which completely takes me by surprise. This is the first time I’ve actually witnessed some sort of magic since my letter came in. That is if you don’t count the dream magic that I did before getting the letter.

Eleanor chuckles a little when she sees the face I’m making before grabbing the doorknob. “Is this your first time traveling by magic?” She asks me gently, and all I can do is nod. She only chuckles a bit louder before opening the door. On the other side of the doorway is a view that makes my jaw drop as I step closer and eventually step through.

In front of me, stands this amazing castle. The first things I notice when gazing at this castle are the four round towers that surround it, one for each corner of it. While the towers seem to reach an amazing fifteen stories, at least, the castle seems to stand at a still-staggering ten. Beautiful glass windows adorn the sides of the castle and some parts of the wall on each of the towers. At the front of the castle is one giant and absolutely gorgeous stained glass window. The colored glass doesn’t seem to depict any sort of image, but that doesn’t take away from its beauty in any way. The castle looks to be old but very well kept. It sits in the middle of an open field with a few trees scattered around here and there a bit of a way away.

The other thing I notice is all of the students that are making their ways to front doors of the school, all with suitcases in their hands. Many of them are wearing uniforms, but I do manage to notice that a few of them aren’t. I’m assuming that the students who are in uniforms are returning students while everyone who doesn’t have a uniform is the new students, just like me.

I feel a hand on my back and see Eleanor looking at me with a kind smile. “Come on, Liam. Let’s get you inside so you can get your dorm situation figured out and so you can get your uniform.” With that, she leads me to the castle and through the huge doors. The inside of the castle is honestly just as beautiful as the outside. Paintings line some of the walls of the inside as well as some candles in their candle holders. Does this mean that they light the castle with candles? How serene.

As we pass by students, Eleanor is greeted by a few students here and there, and she greets them accordingly. She never forgets a single name. She doesn’t even have to think about it.

Finally, I’m taken into a large gathering room. Students are sat in chairs as a few people stand at the front near a podium. There is just chatter from everyone as Eleanor leads me to the front of the room and to a front row where a bunch of kids are who are in regular, everyday clothes just like me. She spots an open seat and leads me to it. “Go ahead and take your seat. Then just wait for instructions, okay?” She asks, and I nod at her as I take a seat. She smiles at me softly before leaving me.

“Hey there,” I hear someone next to me say, making me turn my head. I’m met with a curly haired lad with green eyes holding a kind, dimpled smile. “My name is Harry. Harry Styles.” He then extends a hand out to me to shake, and I do. It would be rude to not shake this gentleman.

I return his smile and introduce myself. “Hi, Harry. I’m Liam Payne,” I tell him. His smile only brightens as he sees me smile back at him.

“Nice to meet you, Liam So, are you excited to be here? I mean, this is a big day, ya know? Being accepted into Kinsworth is such a big deal. It’s not like any other magic school around here. I’m excited, but I can’t help to be nervous as well. Kinsworth is such an elite school. To get a letter from them is such a difficult thing to do,” he says to me. I know the letter had already said that the school was exclusive, but to hear someone who seems to know what they are talking about say how difficult it is must mean that it is very difficult. Especially for someone like me who comes from no magical background whatsoever.

I look over at Harry and go to say something to him when stop as I hear the room start to go quiet. I give him a look of apology before looking toward the front of the room to see a woman standing at the podium, looking ready to speak. Once the whole room is silent, she begins.

“Welcome all to another year at Kinsworth, Institute for the Magically Gifted,” she begins her speech. “Most of you know me, but to those who don’t, I’m Amanda Torneau. Headmistress here at Kinsworth. I want to wish you all a very special welcome to our fine institute here. It feels great to start another year here at this school. Last year was a great year and I’m excited to see what this school year will bring. Today, we give our new students the dorms that they will be a part of, as well as deciding the sophomores who will accompany them for the next few weeks.” She turns her attention from the middle of the room and to the front row where all of the new students sit. “Freshman, stand and wait for your name to be called. When your name is called, I will announce the dorm you have been assigned to, as well as the sophomore in that dorm who will be your guide for the next few weeks. After I call your name, Ms. Drisora will approach you with your outfit that will coincide with your dorm, then you may be seated. Go ahead and stand.”

I stand along with the approximately fifty other students who have just been accepted into this school. “This is it,” I hear Harry say softly, which I’m sure is to more calm his nerves than for anyone else to hear. As for me, I take a deep breath as Headmistress Torneau starts to name off names of Freshman.

“Harry Styles,” I hear her call out, and I give Harry a quick glance. He stands there, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He looks terrified but excited at the same time. “You have been assigned to the Mulburn dorm.” As I watch Harry, I see his face just light up as he hears this. “Your sophomore helper is Louis Tomlinson.” I don’t think Harry’s smile could have gotten any bigger than it was at this moment. I’m guessing by his reaction that he was hoping to be put in Mulburn, and I’m guessing he knows this Louis fellow. Ms. Drisora walks over with his uniform and everything continues on.

It takes a bit more time before I finally hear my name called. “Liam Payne,” I hear the headmistress call my name and I look up at her. She gives me a small smile before continuing to read. “You’ll be joining the Melburn dorm and your sophomore helper is Zayn Malik.” Zayn Malik, huh? Well, I hope the two of us will get along well over the next few weeks.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

* * *

After all of the new students are given their dorms, uniforms, and sophomore helpers, everyone is told to head to their dorms to go unwind until dinner. The freshmen stay behind and are separated into their dorms and meet with a student from their dorms. Harry and I walk over to the person who is leading us to our dorm. This gives me a chance to get a look at him.

His obviously dyed blonde hair is the first thing I notice. I can tell it’s dyed because his natural brown roots are showing pretty clearly. He’s a bit of a paler fellow but has a very kind smile that makes his bright blue eyes shine. I also notice he has braces, but with how straight his teeth look at the moment, it won’t be too long before he’ll be getting those off. He’s also wearing the same outfit that the rest of us have in our hands. He wears a nice dark blue sweater on top of a white tucked in dress shirt that has a nice blue-green tie to compliment it. He wears a nice pair of khaki pants adorned with a black belt and with shiny black dress shoes to complete the outfit.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Niall Horan and I’m one of the best students in the Melburn dorm and I’ve been assigned to take you all to the dorms.” His accent strikes me as odd. I’ve never heard anyone around here with that sort of accent, though I’m guessing it’s Irish. I could be wrong, but that’s what it sounds like to me. “When we get there, you all will meet your assigned sophomores and take this time to at least get to know them a bit.” With that statement, we were off to the dorms with Niall leading the way.

The whole way there, I notice Harry is really bouncy and cheery. I’m sure he is a usually very happy person, but this seems a bit much, even for someone who is usually happy. I nudge him a bit to get his attention. “You seem awfully cheery. You have been ever since the headmistress called your name,” I point out. When I do, Harry’s face turns a slight shade of pink and he looks away from me a bit. He’s getting shy? What’s this about.

“Oh. I guess I’m just excited to be in this school. That’s all,” he lies horribly. Obviously, there was way more to this story than just him being excited to be here. Is it that Louis guy that he was assigned? No. That couldn’t be it, could it? Does Harry have some sort of connection to Louis? Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.

“That’s not true, Harry. You’re a terrible liar,” I say with a chuckle. “Do you happen to know Louis?” I ask, making him almost freeze up. His face turns a darker shade of red and he quickly shushes me. Ha. Would you look at that? Harry does know Louis. Judging by his sudden behavior, I’m guessing he and Louis know each other very well. If you know what I mean.

He grabs my shirt gently and pulls me closer to him. He speaks to me in a hushed whisper so no one else in the small group can hear us. “Okay, okay. I know Louis. He and I uh...know each other very well. I guess you could say,” he quietly admits. “Louis’ my boyfriend.” I smile a little as I look at Harry. “Just please don’t tell anyone. No one knows about us yet and I’m scared of what people might think if I’m dating a guy. Especially my family. I don’t want word to get back to them.”

I chuckle softly and pat Harry’s back comfortingly. “Hey, don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me,” I tell him. “Just know that I support you, bro. Love is love, yeah?” He gives me a thankful smile and finally lets go of my shirt so I can back up a bit. We continue to walk for some time before Niall stops all of us at a door.

“This is the door to the Melburn dorm. The door will only open when the right password is spoken,” he tells us, before motioning for all of us to lean in. Of course, all of us do what he wants. We lean in closely and Niall whispers the password to us. “The password to get into the dorm is ‘Unity in diversity’.” We all nod when we hear it and Niall speaks the password to the door and it opens with a soft creaking sound. Niall pulls the door open all the way and walks inside, all of us following behind him.

We make it inside to what I can only assume is the living area. There are two couches in the middle of the room with a coffee table between the two of them. There are also a few chairs in the room. Some are against the walls next to some tables while a few others are by the couches, giving more people a chance to sit around the table and chat. There’s also a large bookshelf with books next to a set of stairs, which I assume leads up to the bedrooms. I also see a nice big fireplace at the back of the room. Then I finally notice that there are fourteen students who look to have been waiting for us. “Time to meet your sophomores,” Niall says and I look over to Harry. He tries to stay calm as he makes eye contact with one of them. The one he makes eye contact with has nice, feathery brown hair and looks to be a bit shorter than Harry. He’s in the same outfit as Niall, but his perfectly frames his curvy figure. He also looks like he’s trying to hold back a smile as his nice blue eyes are locked with Harry’s green ones. I’m guessing that’s Harry’s boyfriend, Louis.

I then scan my eyes over the rest of them, only to have one catch my eye. He has nice black hair that’s shaved on the sides at styled into a quiff. He has nice tan skin that perfectly compliments his chocolate brown eyes. He has long eyelashes and a bit of scruff growing on his face, making him look a lot older than I think he is. He looks to have a bit of muscle, but not too much. He also seems to have a bit of a curve to his body, though not as much as Louis does. I gotta say, he’s pretty attractive. Woah Woah Woah. Wait a minute. Did I just say a guy was attractive? What? No way.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by this guy walking over to me with a small smile. “Hey. You’re Liam, right?” He asks me. I feel my cheeks start to burn and I get a bit shy as his voice rings in my ears. He had such a gentle voice with a very nice Bradford accent. To say that I loved the sound of his voice would be an understatement. Wait, Liam. Calm down. Don’t let him know that you’re nervous. I turn my gaze to the side and nod a little, telling him that he’s correct. “Nervous, I see. I’m Zayn. I was assigned to be your guide over the next few weeks.” Damn it. He caught on. Why am I so nervous around him anyway?

“Oh, well, hi, Zayn,” I say, somehow managing to keep myself from stuttering. I’m not even sure how I managed to do that. Though if I’m honest, I’m not sure why I’m so nervous around this guy.

“Well come on. I’ll take you to your room. This dorm has a floor for each student to have a floor to share just between four people. One student per grade level on a floor,” he says before starting to walk off, and I follow. Before we leave the common area, I take a look behind me and to Harry. He’s stood in his spot talking to Louis with a smile, though when he sees me, he gives me a thumbs up. What the heck could that mean?

Zayn and I walk up a few flights of stairs before reaching the fourth floor of the tower. We walk onto that floor to see another living area. This one isn’t as nice as the common area downstairs, but it’s still really nice. There’s only one couch in front of a coffee table with two chairs beside it. There is another bookshelf, though it’s not as big, and not as full as the bookshelf downstairs. There’s also a smaller fireplace near the couch and chairs. The only big difference between this room and the room downstairs is the nice big table on the opposite side of the room from the couch. I happen to take notice of one student sitting at the table, doing a bit of reading. The other small difference between this room and the one downstairs is the five doors along the walls. I’m guessing that four of them lead to bedrooms while one leads to the bathroom. So, I guess we all share a bathroom then.

“So yeah, this is the floor you and I stay on. We share it with two other students, so be very mindful. They are a bit, uh…” Zayn starts off quietly, “well, they can be a bit problematic, so just try to steer clear of them, okay? Just trust me on this one.” His voice is hushed so the one sitting at the table doesn’t hear us. With that, he takes me over to one of the doors and opens it, revealing a nice bedroom. “This is your room.”

I look around with a smile. There’s a nice big bed with dark blue blankets and pillows resting on top of it. There’s a desk to the left of the bed with a phone sitting on top of it. There’s a big window on the other side of the bed, probably giving a great view of the area around the castle. At least I hope so anyway.

“This is really really nice,” I say, forgetting that Zayn is even there. I feel my face flush a little when I hear him chuckle.

“Yeah. The bedrooms are nice, aren’t they? Well, my room is next door. If you need anything, just come knocking, okay? Anything you need, I’ll be happy to help a guy like you out,” he says to me with a smile. A guy like me? What could that mean?

“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled and get changed into your uniform. There are also extras in the closet for in between laundry days,” he says. With that, he gives me one last smile before leaving me to get settled into my room.

I pull my suitcase into the room and shut the door behind me, making sure to lock it before I attempt to change. I pull off the shoes I was wearing and place them next to my bed before pulling off my shirt and pants. Grabbing the clothes I was handed in the gathering hall, I slip on the pants and pull on the shirt, buttoning it up before pulling on the sweater. When I get to the tie, I struggle with it for a bit before letting out a frustrated sigh. I’ve never had to tie a tie before and I thought I’d be able to at least try to see if I could figure it out, though obviously, I didn’t. Taking the piece of fabric away from my neck, I unlock my door and walk out of my room and knock on Zayn’s door. When he opens it, I look at him shyly as I rub the back of my neck.

“Okay, so I uh…,” I say nervously, “I don’t know how to tie a tie...would you please help me?” My shy demeanor makes Zayn chuckle again before he steps out of his room and grabs the tie from the hand at my side.

“I’ll do it for you this one time, but after that, you’re on your own, man,” he says with a chuckle. I honestly hope he’s joking because I don’t know if I’ll get it after just one time. He puts the tie around my neck and I watch as best as I can as his hands tie the tie for me. He talks me through step by step until he tightens it up, all done. “And there you go,” he says, though he doesn’t pull his hand away from the tie.

I look up and we lock eyes for just a split second before I turn away, all flustered once again. “Thanks, Zayn. I’ll just go now so I can get settled into my room,” I say as I pull away and go to my room, not giving him a single chance to say anything before I shut the door to my room behind me. Come on, Liam. Why can’t you stay calm around him? Stop getting so flustered. It’s not like you like him. You’ve known him for less than an hour. Not only that, but you’re not gay. There’s no way that you could be into him, so chill out.

With that last thought, I sit down on my bed and grab my suitcase so I can make this place at least feel a little like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here you go, everyone. The first chapter is up. This is just an intro to see what life for Liam is like at home before anything starts to change for him. I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for the next chapter.


End file.
